Custom Solutions
Custom Solutions are cheaper, integrate better, and are easier to maintain than off-the-shelf packages.
Less Expensive
Pre-built packages can cost thousands to millions of dollars. Justifying a million dollars of savings is difficult if the software costs 500,000 plus additional integration and resource costs. Software is inflated because the price supports the vendor's further software development; Development into features you do not need.
Furthermore, getting authorization to spend that type of money requires higher management, maybe even your CEO. You need a solution that fits in your budget, does not require huge resources to deploy, and saves the same amount money.
Arcavia Software is significantly cheaper because we only deploy what you need to maximize your charge recovery. Without the expensive upfront costs, you can let the real savings justify increasingly vigorous cost recovery. You choose what is best for your situation : from simple scripts to find savings in previous years bills, to complete work order and inventory database solutions customized to fit your current business processes.
Better Integration
Generic software will not integrate into your company's particular workflow or data requirements. Software modules are either underutilized (notice data entry screens that are mostly blank), or are too restrictive (notice the use of special formats or "tricks" to store the information you require). When software does not match well to your business processes your user productivity goes down, and training costs go up.
Pre-built packages have no hope of integrating with all your existing systems. This means there is always the additional cost of custom programming to make the square peg fit in the round hole. Even after these custom alterations, things will not run smoothly. Scripts and batch jobs will have to be run periodically, adding to the overhead of maintaining the application instead of just using the application.
Easier to Maintain
Vendor software code is a secret and you are unable to change it. This prevents you from making even simple changes to your application that would improve your productivity. You are forced you to pay for their maintenance, at their rate. This vendor lock-in also causes problems in a production environment when the vendor releases a "new version" and stops supporting your existing version.
And what will your company do when the vendor goes out of business? The recent round of bankruptcies and consolidation in the tech sector should be proof that even large companies can disappear.
With a custom solution your company has full access to the software code. This means your company decides who is the most cost effective for maintaining the application. If you have your own software developer, then maintenance can be handed to them, saving thousands in maintenance contracts. Arcavia Software will be more than happy to train your own employees in maintenance, or maintain it ourselves.